Is that red sauce, or a bloodbath? Dallas’ Italian restaurant scene has a serious problem

Lucia's rye tagliatelle with confit chicken, chanterelles and lobster mushrooms. Chef David Uygur served the pasta dish last summer.

I crave Italian food, pretty much permanently. That’s why I read Sarah Blaskovitch’s post earlier today about a new Italian restaurant planned for later this year with great interest. DRG Concepts, she writes, the group that owns Dallas Chop House and other downtown restaurants, plans to open Oven and Cellar downtown, with former Wild Salsa chef Kelly Hightower in charge of the kitchen.

I can’t wait, seriously. Will it be good? Who knows. The important thing is it’ll be Italian. Or at least ostensibly Italian. Need pasta. Need salumi. Need antipasti. Don’t you?

I certainly hope Oven and Cellar will be good, as we have a real situation here in Big D when it comes to Italian restaurants: There are absurdly few (obscenely few, upsettingly few) good or even decent ones. Plus, we’re hemorrhaging them. I was not a big fan of Mi Piaci, but wore black when it closed recently. Ditto Arcodoro and Pomodoro. Sfuzzi (of which I also was not a fan) closed earlier this year. Isabella’s Italia in Frisco, Cibus and D’Carlo closed last year; we lost La Fiorentina and Ristorante Nicola the year before. OK, most were mediocre at best; there is certainly a reason they closed. Meanwhile, Fedora in One Arts Plaza, which closed a month ago due to a small fire, still has not reopened. (A spokesperson told me at the time it would be closed five to seven business days; since then, a One Arts Plaza publicist told me they’re remodeling, and will re-open “very soon.”)

So where can a discerning Italian food lover go when that craving hits? There’s Lucia, the Bishop Arts trattoria that’s one of only two Dallas restaurants with five stars currently. (Good luck getting in.) Otherwise, our notable Italian restaurants are a dying breed. There’s Zio Cecio Cucina Italiana, Francesco Farris’ friendly place on West Lovers. There’s Princi Italia, but I haven’t been there for awhile. (Need to go!). There’s a bevvy of good pizza spots, of course, but that’s not the same. And Carbone’s Fine Food and Wine, Julian Barsotti’s laid-back deli-restaurant in Oak Lawn.

Antipasti at Nonna

Of course we have Nonna, Barsotti’s place in Highland Park. Last night I had spectacular antipasti there (outstanding salumi; devilishly rich brioche crostini with lobster, pancetta, butter and rosemary; fried lamb meatballs with marinated, thin-sliced cucumbers and summer squash and a Calabrian chile aioli; and a fritto misto that included softshell crawfish, spring onions, zucchini and shrimp). But the pasta, clunky, tough and terribly oversalted, was so disappointing I figured the chef wasn’t in the house. He was. Fortunately, the main courses — Gulf red snapper with a profusion of unusual beans and a tangy salmorglio sauce, and pancetta-wrapped quail stuffed with Italian sausage, risotto and leeks, were terrific.

I know, any restaurant can have an off night. But with our dearth of good Italian places, it feels like a tragedy if one of our two best sends out terrible pasta. Barsotti’s pasta can be — and usually is — so fabulous that to be so disappointed by it felt like my world was crumbling around me. (Meanwhile, while Carbone’s is still very good, it’s sitting on a four-star rating, and the last dinner I had there was definitely not four-star quality.)

Our dining scene in Big D has become so sophisticated and exciting and interesting, I can’t understand why we’re so deficient when it comes to Italian cooking. (Same story with French food, while we’re on the subject.) At the very least, we need our best Italian chefs to stay on top of their games. (Per piacere!) I dream of other talented chefs joining their ranks.

That’s why I’m excited about Oven and Cellar. And about Saint Rocco, the Italian place Phil Romano plans to open at some point this year in Trinity Groves. Let us all pray for cooking of quality.

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